


"Game Start" is the Same in Every Language

by teaandtumblr



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, foreign student prompto, nerds, noctis and prompto love video games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:28:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25376170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandtumblr/pseuds/teaandtumblr
Summary: Prompto is a foreign student freshly enrolled in Noctis' high school. The only problem is, he doesn't speak Japanese. At all.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73





	"Game Start" is the Same in Every Language

**Author's Note:**

> this is actually inspired by an old pokemon commerical...for some reason XD

  
  


***

It wasn’t that Prompto didn’t like his parents. Or that he didn’t want what was best for them. Or that he didn’t want them to achieve their dreams, to climb the corporate ladder, to be the best they could be. It was just...Prompto wished they could have done it without moving halfway across the world. Moving was hard enough as it was, let alone being two years from graduating high school, being in a country he didn’t speak the language, and coming home to a perpetually empty house because his parents were always busy at work. 

Prompto sighed, tossing his backpack under his desk and pulling out his homework for the day. Next came the tedious part of translating it, answering, and then translating it back. Prompto bit back the urge to sigh again, focussing on the first question and seeing if anymore of the words made sense than they had a month ago.

_ “But darling, it’ll be easy,” his mother assured him. _

_ Prompto’s mouth dropped open before shutting it with a click. “Mum, it’s not-! I don’t...I don’t speak Japanese!” _

_ “You play all those Japanese video games,” his father cut in, clapping his shoulder a little too hard. “You seem to understand them just fine.” _

_ That was probably because of the subtitles but Prompto didn’t get to say that because his mother was leaning down so they were eye to eye. “You’ll like it if you try. It’s just because of the promotion, you understand.” _

_ He understood, but he didn’t like it. _

And so, here he was a month and a half later, bundled up in a Japanese apartment that was a quarter of the size of the home they’d had in Finland and very much aware of how much he stood out. He was pale, had blond hair, blue eyes, freckles. Everything everyone else didn’t. 

Oh, and he only spoke Finnish.

***

“Did anything new happen at school today?”

Noctis bit back the urge to groan, already powering up his Switch and opening his newest game. He knew why Ignis kept the console in the car, why Noctis wasn’t allowed to take it to school, but that didn’t mean it didn’t irk him a little bit each day. “Nothing new ever happens,” he muttered, sliding down further into the leather.

Ignis shot him a look through the rearview mirror. “I doubt that sir. I’m sure you covered new material in your classes.”

Noctis actually _did_ groan there. “Do you need me to explain what we learnt in chemistry today?”

“Does that mean you could actually tell me what you learnt in chemistry today?” Ignis asked in disbelief, Noctis flushing.

Okay, bad example seeing as how that was his worst class. 

“Any progress on the friend front?”

Noctis kicked the chair in front of him. “I already told you; I don’t want to make friends! I’m not at school to make friends.”

“Maybe not,” Ignis said calmly, “But it would surely make the experience more enjoyable. Didn’t you say there was a new student?”

“He doesn’t talk.”

“At all?”

“Not that I’ve heard. The teachers never call on him either.”

Ignis frowned. “They’re not actively discluding him are they? You should speak up if they are Noctis. Didn’t you say he looked foreign? I’d hate to think they were ignoring him because of that factor.”

It was Noctis’ turn to frown. “I...I’ll keep an eye out tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Ignis replied. “Pass your findings onto Gladio. He’ll ensure it reaches the school board.”

“He’s probably just shy.”

“Mm, perhaps.”

***

Prompto nervously shifted his backpack a little higher on his back as he made for the school exit. For the past two days he’d had a boy with dark hair and darker eyes staring at him periodically. Prompto didn’t know what he’d done to incur his wrath but he didn’t want to find out. Sure, he didn’t know his name or anything but what Prompto _did_ know was that he was collected every afternoon by a driver in a crisp suit and occasionally a towering man that could only be a bodyguard. Not exactly the best enemy to have.

Shoving his headphones in, Prompto made to weave away from the door only to be tapped on the shoulder. He jumped a good mile, only made a little less embarrassing by the fact that the student who’d tried to get his attention jumped too. Naturally, it was the boy who’d been staring holes in the back of his head since Tuesday.

“ _Ah, h-hi…_ ” Prompto managed, clearing his throat and hoping he hadn’t bungled the pronunciation.

“ _Yeah, hi. So...I don’t usually do this but it seems everyone else is giving you the slip. I’m Noctis. Did you wanna, I don’t know...hang out sometime?_ ”

Prompto had to do his very best not to swear, only one to two words going in. “Uh…”

“ _It’s cool if you don’t want to,_ ” the boy went on. “ _I just thought-_ ”

“Sorry!” Prompto blurted...in fluent Finnish. “I don’t speak Japanese very well! I don’t...Sorry, but I can’t understand you. _Sorry_.”

He tacked on the last word in Japanese, remembering to bow before taking off at a dead sprint. That would probably go down as the most awkward moment of his life. Which was unfortunate because, for a moment there, the other boy had almost looked _friendly_.

***

Noctis blinked at the empty space where...Pronto? Ponpo?...had been. Whatever language had just been fired at him, he didn’t recognise it at all. It hadn’t even been English. 

“Whoa, what’s this? Finally trying to make some friends Noctis?”

“Hush Gladio,” Ignis scolded, elbowing the man but looking equally as intrigued.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Noctis said, shrugging his bag off and hugging it to his chest as they all climbed into the car. “Turns out he doesn’t speak Japanese.”

The pair in front exchanged identical, disapproving looks. “What, at all?” Gladio demanded. “Who the hell puts a kid in school when he doesn’t speak the language?”

“Evidently this boy’s parents,” Ignis said, tone clipped. “What was his name again Noctis?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Something that starts with Pron or Prom. Pon maybe?”

“See if you can look into it Gladio.”

“What’s the point?” Noctis asked. “The school isn’t going to swap languages.”

“No, but I speak several. At the very least, I may be able to tutor him.”

“That’s a lot of work,” Gladio scoffed, only to wince when Ignis hissed,

“Yes but you’ll remember the difficulties _Noctis_ had fitting in and he transferred in first year _and_ spoke Japanese.”

“I can hear you,” Noctis called from the back. 

“I should hope so,” Ignis sniffed. 

Needless to say, Noctis pouted all the way home.

***

Prompto had spent the weekend wallowing in embarrassment and shame, made worse by the fact that he’d run into Noctis and his entourage outside of school. They were at the game shop Prompto frequented, Noctis’ hands gesticulating emphatically as he held a game in his hands. For all intents and purposes, he looked as though he was trying to convince his driver to let him buy the game. Prompto didn’t even want to make an attempt at a guess as to what their actual relationship was.

What did matter though was that the game Noctis was so adamant on was the same one Prompto currently had clenched in his hands. His parents had given him the necessary money in lieu of coming home and while it wasn’t ideal - far from it - it still meant he could buy the newest release, _King’s Knight_. 

He almost, almost, went up to his fellow classmate to show him the game but what if Noctis got turned down? Then he’d just look like he was rubbing it in his face. And besides, where would the conversation go from there? It would dead end just as quickly.

And so Prompto had simply headed home, powering up his Switch and installing the game. He played well into the night, oversleeping and barely making it to school on time. At lunch he’d found a quiet corner of the roof and level grinded away until the bell rang and there he was, dashing back to the classroom once more. He nearly slammed into Noctis as he did so, offering what he hoped was an apologetic smile before sliding into his allocated seat. 

But then it all came to a head and Prompto didn’t even know _why_. Whether it was because he was tired of being lonely, tired of being scared, or just plain tired to the point that his brain wasn’t thinking but that afternoon he saw Noctis step out of the school, Switch in hand and King’s Knight on the screen. Prompto dashed after him, catching him just as he reached his car, driver and bodyguard raising their eyebrows. Prompto ignored them, shoving his Switch in Noctis’ face.

“King’s Knight?”

He would deny there being desperation in his tone until the day he died.

Noctis blinked before looking down, a smile blooming. “Ah.” He then made to grab the device, the two of them nearly dropping it in the resulting scuffle. His finger was then jabbing at the level. “ _Thirty four?_ ”

Prompto knew enough English to grasp that, leaning over and, oh, Noctis was still at level fifteen. “I played all night!”

Noctis’ expression turned quizzical and Prompto winced. But then, then, Noctis just waved a hand, pointing to the “ _add friend_ ” menu. He then pointed between them, Prompto lighting up.

“ _Yes!_ ”

And so, Prompto finally made his first friend in Japan. And, quite possibly, his best friend. Period.

***

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! .xx dan


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